The ULTIMATE Guide To Getting Good At Chess

Exactly what you need to learn to go from 0 to 2000 ELO.

So if you feel stuck & can’t improve – this will help you 🙂

Complete recap of the video below

Top Chess Army is 50% OFF for the next 30 days only. Join the #1 community for casual players to improve at chess at a lifetime rate of just $10/mo:

0:00 – Intro
2:43 – Reach 500 ELO
6:00 – Reach 1000 ELO
15:54 – Reach 1500 ELO
21:07 – Reach 2000 ELO
24:31 – Ad Knight

Here is EVERYTHING this video talks about:

How to Reach 500 ELO (Learn the Basics):

Pieces and Their Moves:
– King: Moves one square in any direction.
– Rook: Moves horizontally or vertically as far as possible.
– Bishop: Moves diagonally as far as possible.
– Queen: Moves like a rook and bishop combined.
– Knight: Moves in an L-shape, jumping over other pieces.
– Pawn: Moves one square forward (or two squares on its first move) and captures diagonally.

Special Moves:
– Castling: Swap the king and rook to make the king safer.
– Pawn Promotion: When a pawn reaches the end of the board, it can become a queen, rook, bishop, or knight (usually a queen).
– En Passant: A special pawn capture move that you’ll figure out as you play.

Training Routine (how to balance your time):
– 20% learning new strategies.
– 80% playing games. You’ll improve fastest just by playing games.

How to Reach 1000 ELO (Focus & Learn Tactics):

Congrats! You’ve learned the basics. Now it’s time to rise…

Openings:
– Pick 1 Opening for White and 1 for Black:
– Recommended: English Opening or London Opening for White.
– Recommended: King’s Indian or Caro Kann for Black.

Master one opening to get really good at it.

Opening Principles:
– Control the center.
– Protect your king (castle early).
– Develop all your pieces off the back line.
– Don’t move the same piece twice in the opening.

Practice puzzles so you blunder less in your games.

Focus during your games by implementing the LOCK-IN PROTOCOL:
– Only play chess when you can focus.
– Avoid playing when tired, like late at night or right after a meal.
– Try meditating for 3 minutes before games to improve focus.

Stop Blundering by implementing the ANTI-BLUNDER PROTOCOL:
– Slow down and think through each move.
– Avoid careless mistakes.

Basic Strategy (Piece Development Tips):
– Keep your pawns connected.
– Place knights in the center.
– Put bishops on long diagonals.
– Place rooks on open files or behind passed pawns.
– Position your queen in the middle of the board.

Training Routine (how to balance your time):
– 20% learning new strategies.
– 40% playing games.
– 40% doing puzzles.

How to Reach 1500 ELO (Advanced Learning):

Congrats on reaching 1000 ELO!

You’re a knowledgeable chess player now, and you can probably beat a lot of your friends & win some games in tournaments.

Motivation:
– Keep Going: You can be much better a year from now if you stay dedicated.
– You might think it takes a long time to improve, but the time will pass anyway, so you might as well improve! 🙂

Advanced Attacking Principles:
– Learn the 18 principles to launch effective attacks.

Middlegame Mastery:
– Understand what to do when you’re out of the opening phase and looking for a path to victory.

Defending Principles:
– Learn the 8 principles for effective defense, including which side to castle, pieces to trade, and how to spot threats.

Endgame Mastery:
– Master the 15 rules to help you win endgames, focusing on king activity, pawn structures, and key strategies.

Practical Tips (Positioning and Strategy):

– Make sure you’re safe before launching attacks.
– Look for and exploit weaknesses in your opponent’s position.
– Be cautious in the endgame to avoid missing key moves.

Training Routine:
– 20% Learning
– 40% Playing Games
– 40% Puzzles
So if you play chess for 2 hours in a day, spend about 30 minutes learning, 45 minutes playing games, and 45 minutes doing puzzles.

Reaching 2000 ELO (Study to improve):

There’s no get rich quick scheme to improving at chess or reaching 2000 ELO. It takes time, effort, and a love for the game.

You need to practice, play, watch others play, and absorb the knowledge.

Reaching 2000 ELO will take time, maybe even years. But it will all be worth it.

Master Different Openings:
– You need to know various openings because if your opponent catches you off guard with a strong opening, they gain an advantage.
– Use resources like Lichess and Chess.com for comprehensive opening guides.

Study High-Level Games:
– Watching really strong players, whether they are streamers, Grandmasters, etc. helps a lot, because when you watch really good players, you start to think like them, which helps you play better.

Training Routine:
– 60% Learning
– 20% Playing Games
– 20% Puzzles
So if you play chess for 2 hours in a day, spend about 30 minutes learning, 45 minutes playing games, and 45 minutes doing puzzles.

Join Top Chess Army to make improving at chess fun & easy: